Disclaimer: He ain't mine, and unless you're Kishimoto, he ain't yours either. Naruto, the man of the hour!

Victory was sweet for the members of team seven. Well, more salty than sweet, but it was tasty nonetheless. It was especially sweet on the tongue of Naruto Uzumaki when washed down with Ichiraku's perfectly seasoned noodles and broth. The nectar of the gods that was ramen poured down his throat like an infusion of new life.

Sasuke edgily pecked and pulled away at his food like a carrion bird, content but slightly uncomfortable with the closeness of a mane of pink hair to his shoulder. She didn't have the right to touch him, he told himself, as he had many times. Who was she to think she was worth touching? He, who had witnessed so much, was ENTITLED to his personal space. These thoughts showed on his face, but Sakura either didn't notice or ignored the nonverbal communication altogether.

Sakura was grateful that they had passed the test, but she had taken very opportunity to praise her immediate crush's marksmanship over the ingenuity of the plan executed by the blonde guzzling his food like his life depended on it. Every now and then, she would casually ask something of Naruto, but found him eerily quiet. Where was the loud-mouth she had become accustomed to? Certainly not across from her. Every cell in her female body screamed about the absurdity of it all. Then again, every cell also shouted that it was hungry and that dieting was a bad idea, so she made a habit of not listening to them(or eating, for that matter).

Naruto felt himself staring at Sasuke and Sakura, no matter how hard he tried to restrain himself. They were so young and vulnerable back then. Sasuke was still unmarked by anyone other than himself, if only it weren't just a dream. If only…! He had acted so rashly back then. That wasn't to say that he never acted irrationally in the present, but he had to admit he had mellowed out to an extent.

The leader of the team observed them all from a distance, not actually eating himself due to the fact he would not remove his face mask for any reason. He had explained a few things to the students, but was fairly sure that he hadn't been very well heeded. Adolescents were so easily distracted. Especially that Sakura. He'd need to work on that. Sasuke wasn't too bad. Kakashi hadn't expected the sought-after genin to have been too much of a nuisance anyway. No, what really kept him on his guard was the Uzumaki boy. There was something off about him.

Hatake Kakashi had been very well-briefed on Naruto's situation and personality. He had no choice but to be. So how was it that an entire secret side of the boy was being exhibited during a period where he could be expected to be as immature as possible? Didn't that Iruka mention something about the kid being rash and impulsive with the Sandaime concurring with that observation? He had yet to see either trait. No. This kid was definitely smarter than he had let on. More mature, too.



Naruto continued his meal in silence, looking at his teammates on occasion with what seemed like longing; especially Sasuke. It wasn't that kind of longing, but it was an intense emotion raging within his student regardless. That much made sense to the jonin. The envy probably drove him mad. To have someone that was so sought after when you were ostracized in such a way must have been terrible. Then again, Sasuke's existence wasn't exactly a happy one either.

It's always greener on the other side of the hill, eh? That's not healthy.

After some basic dialogue from Sasuke to Naruto, some fawning from Sakura on the point of the former, and a lot of eating on the part of the latter, the meal drew to a close. The teacher put his finger in his pockets to reach for his wallet, but was cancelled out by an intense slam from the fist of the Kyuubi's boy. A few bills fell to the counter, along with a couple coins. His face was downcast and hidden; quite a contrast to that of Kakashi's, which was wide-eyed and puzzled. If his mouth wasn't hidden, it would have been agape.

"I'm done, guys. There's the bill. See ya' tomorrow." he deadpanned, leaving the old ramen vendor as speechless as everyone else in the closed area. The twelve-year-old's shoulders sagged with every movement.

Sasuke did a double-take, but thought the better of prying. Whatever the dobe was doing wasn't worth the effort. Granted, he was -different- somehow, but still the idiot he knew. Just because he learned a few more tricks didn't mean Naruto was even close to holding a candle to Sasuke's skills. Oh, how wrong he was.

Sakura watched her orange-clad companion wander away until he vanished. For some reason, she felt she should have said something. Was he angry at them? He hadn't asked her out all day. That hurt her confidence more than she would have ever said out loud, but all the same…She needed time to figure it out.

"I think I'll be going home, too. I'll see you in the morning, Sasuke." she said sweetly, ignoring Kakashi altogether. He felt a bead of sweat form to the side of his head. Women.

Sasuke waited until after his obsessed fan had left before breathing a sigh of relief. It was just him and the teacher. That was acceptable. Minutes passed by with the two just enjoying the calm evening.

"Interesting, aren't they?" Kakashi asked thoughtfully, attempting to start up a conversation with a kindred spirit. Birds of a feather flocked together, didn't they?"

"I guess." Sasuke contributed, placing his chin on his hands. He didn't even bother making eye contact, and few more seconds told Kakashi that was all that was going to be said. The elite ninja sighed and stood up. He had hoped for a little more spirit.

"Be at the training field by eight tomorrow." he reminded his last student before vanishing entirely. 'Eight' meant 'ten', but he didn't bother to mention such a trivial detail. Nah. They could find out for themselves.

The jounin headed for his house that evening, completely unaware of the strange events that were about to unfold.

Naruto walked out into the night air with more burning in his throat than he'd have liked to admit. Dreams… he now realized he hated them. Weren't they supposed to help you work through things? All his was managing to do was make the pain worse. He'd already mourned. He'd already come to grips with things. Did his mind have to torment him so?

Seeing Sasuke again hadn't affected him at first, but the longer he spent next to what he was sure was a replica created by his subconscious, the deeper the wound cut. How the bastard managed to show affection from being belittled publicly was a mystery, but Naruto had missed it. Every single painful and humiliating second.

….

Okay, maybe ALMOST every single painful and humiliating second. There was only so much arrogance even a saint could take. Naruto wasn't a saint, and he would be the first to admit it. Even in the short span he'd spent in his ephemeral realm, he'd wanted to kick the prissy whiner in the back several times.

As for Sakura.. He didn't know where to begin. A reality check would probably cash in well at her national bank. He found himself missing the self she was when he was awake. That Sakura knew herself; she wasn't a slave to what she thought she was. She was confident. This… thing… he was contending with was only a shadow of the woman she would become. It was like missing a friend.

He was thankful for Kakashi's presence in that the man never changed. He was still the same sadistic psycho-bastard of a genius with a soft spot for the Uchiha. Even if Naruto buttered him up, Sasuke would probably pull their teacher in like a magnet.

It was only natural that Sasuke would get attention from Kakashi, he concluded after thinking about it a little more. That didn't mean he was okay wit that fact, but he was aware of the reasons it made sense.

A chill hit Naruto's face. He was getting tired of dreaming now. He contemplated jumping off the Fourth's nose and waking up in a fit of giggles, but decided the better of it. Maybe there really was something he needed to work through… or maybe Sasuke would blow up. The idea made him crack up even more than the suicide plan. Why wouldn't it? The black-haired miscreant had already done the same to Naruto, right?

An idea hit him like Sakura would have if she had heard it. A manic smile graced his features.

Well, it IS my dream after all.



An unsuspecting Sasuke Uchiha rolled over in his sheets. Sleep graced him, but not without causing some rather annoying habits to surface. He ground his teeth together menacingly while bunching all the covers up at his feet. And, as any other sleeper would, he involuntarily passed gas from time to time.

The moonlight streamed in through his open window, accompanied by the occasional insect. The illumination landed on the Uchiha's upper face, causing his eyelids to shine in the darkness. In a moment, it was blocked by a streaked shadow, which caused no more than a slight twitch of the closed eyes.

Two blue sandaled feet stealthily touched down on the ground near his head. Once again, Sasuke did not awaken. Naruto grinned. It was going quite well so far. Now, it was time for the purpose of the errand.

The troublemaker pulled a permanent marker out of his sleeve and crouched down to the pale face of his rival. The canvas of Sasuke's skin was admired for a moment for being so damned perfect to write on for a nanosecond before the slightly toxic ink was pressed onto the defenseless face.

Stress relief was essential for a ninja. For different individuals, there were different hobbies. To be fair, not all of them were as harmless as practical jokes. Naruto kept this in mind as he sketched on his friend's skin with surprising dexterity. After several minutes of the deed, the young shinobi inspected his work. The unibrow was a nice touch, he decided, and promptly got the hell out of the apartment before Sasuke woke up. Dream or no dream, he didn't want to be the first one the spoiled avenger saw after discovering his new paint job. No, he hoped Kakashi would bear the brunt of it.

…Freaking biased teacher…

Naruto slept nicely after that. He was sure he would wake up in the Konoha he was from, but that his dream had been a success. He was a hundred and four percent wrong, of course, but he didn't know that. The night passed as any other, but dawn would shed some new light on his situation. Coincidentally, it would also make Sasuke look like an idiot in front of several people.

Sasuke woke up at around five in the morning every day. The first day he spent as a fully-fledged genin was no exception. Routine had him so strongly in its grasp that the groggy ninja didn't even bother looking in the mirror as he went about his business. Not that it would have made much difference anyway. Sasuke couldn't be bothered with cleaning his own mirror.

The Uchiha picked out another outfit from a closet of the same garments and donned it without any more fuss than straightening it out. With that done, he brushed his hair and grabbed a quick cup of milk before heading outside to train.



A courier boy that was delivering the post to him looked at him oddly the moment he left his apartment. Sasuke didn't care, though. It was nothing more than a distraction. He had to train! He did his workout routine and stretches, a combined total of about an hour and a half elapsed.

It was about seven when he left his housing for the main streets. Once again, the early risers were at their own schedules. Normally he would get a couple waves and some respectful greetings, but today was different. Some of them were edgy, while others looked like they were stifling laughter. What was the big deal?

Having had enough, the 'prodigy' looked in a pond while walking through Konoha towards the training field. Upon seeing his reflection, there was a few seconds of nothing before a screamed set of profanities aimed at Naruto Uzumaki. As a result, several young villagers expanded their vocabularies and ended up in various corners.

Unaware of anything that was going on, Naruto slept in comfortably.

Author's Note: First Revision complete. I must extend my deepest gratitude to all the proofreaders and betas who helped me with this originally.